Increased Need for Cooling Solutions

Over the past decade, the increased focus on national security has in turn increased the demand for state-of-the-art security systems. The electronic components of these security systems generate high levels of heat and need to be able to withstand unpredictable environmental conditions in remote locations. As a result, these systems require high-performance cooling solutions that are reliable and equally capable of withstanding harsh conditions.

Security and surveillance systems typically encounter two main problems:

1)   Thermal overrun temperatures are one of the leading causes of failure and reduction in MTBF. This is due to the increased computational power and communications bandwidth the systems require. Since the systems must operate in high ambient temperatures, the removal of the generated heat is a primary concern.

2)   Many of the systems use rack-mounted electronics originally designed to operate in air-conditioned rooms. When the systems are subject to temperatures of 120° F a multitude of problems can occur.

It is very important that we understand the specific application of the equipment so we are able to tailor our solutions to the specific needs of our customers.

How does EIC improve Security Systems in Real Life Situations?

“Before many municipalities were advocating for the use of air conditioned electronic enclosures, apartment complexes and businesses had many issues with the effects of heat and humidity on fire panels,” says Josh Liegel, an EIC sales engineer. “Fire alarm systems could throw false signals, go off erroneously, or not go off in the event of an actual fire.”  Now, many municipalities mandate the use of air-conditioned boxes to house Fire Panels.  The built-in thermoelectric air conditioner ensures a cool, dry, and functioning product to avoid a dangerous, pricy, or unexpected outcome from Fire Panels.

The increase in domestic security over the past few years is driving the overall demand for the increase sensitive electronics performance.  In order for EIC to uphold our vision, “To provide our defense and industrial market customers with the world’s best high-performance solutions to house, protect and cool mission electronics,” we have made it our mission to protect sensitive electronics.

Wall-mount Enclosure with 200 BTU Thermoelectric Air Conditioner

Electrical/electronic enclosures today house state-of-the-art systems and components used for a wide range of applications in manufacturing, transportation, security and surveillance, oil and gas and other potentially harsh environments. Many of these systems include computers and servers consisting of microprocessors, fiber optic devices, routers and switches, uninterrupted power supplies, and other semiconductor components.

When these electrical/electronic systems are mounted in a sealed enclosure they can become subjected to high temperatures and high humidity. This is due to either the heat generated by equipment in the enclosure or the heat from the sun if the enclosure is in an exposed location or both. Overheating and condensation can shorten their life expectancies and cause major failures. To insure proper functioning and long term reliability an environmentally controlled enclosure should be considered to reduce the heat and humidity.

EIC’s Protector™ Series Air Conditioned Enclosures play an important role in insuring the reliable performance of electrical and electronic equipment in both indoor and outdoor environments. Our climate controlled cabinets and enclosures feature built-in air conditioners, heaters, and thermostats and are ideal for mounting electrical and electronic equipment both indoors and outdoors. The enclosures are designed to provide protection from rain, sleet, snow, ice, dirt, dust and debris. In addition, they provide temperature control to keep sensitive equipment at the optimum operating temperature using both air conditioning for hot environments and supplemental heating to prevent condensation in more humid and colder locations.

June 12 – 14, Alberta, CA – Booth #5418

Global Petroleum Show is the meeting place for the global oil & gas industry. Since 1968, GPS has been heralded as one of the largest energy events that brings together global producers, EPC’s, service companies and suppliers. Held in the heart of the energy capital of Canada – Calgary, Alberta, the event plays host to 95 countries, 60,000 attendees, and 2,000 exhibiting companies every two years.

EIC’s 400 BTU Class 1, Div. 2 Hazardous Location Thermoelectric Air Conditioner

Electrical and Electronic Enclosure Cooling Systems for Oil and Gas Applications

At Global Petroleum Show 2012, EIC Solutions will be exhibiting a wide range of standard and custom cooling solutions designed to protect sensitive electronics and meet the demands of a broad range of offshore and land-based chemical and petrochemical environments – including exploration, drilling, refining, production and servicing.

When reliability and safety are paramount, EIC’s enclosure cooling systems are there to keep processes running smoothly by protecting computers, instrumentation, process controls and other electrical/electronic equipment from damaging heat, dust, moisture, and corrosion.

To provide a complete solution, EIC offers packaged systems comprised of enclosures and cabinets with integrated cooling assemblies. These systems are designed to protect and cool electrical/electronic systems in a wide range of petrochemical applications including instrumentation and process control systems. These integrated cooling systems offer superior performance with excellent temperature uniformity, resulting in lower electronic component temperatures, increased operational life and reliability (MTBF).

EIC Provides Temperature Controlled Enclosures for Cooling Electrical Control Panels on Off-shore Drilling Rigs

EIC’s thermoelectric air conditioners and air conditioned enclosures are ideal for cooling electronics and electrical controls in hazardous oil and gas related settings, including:

• Blenders
• Electrical Controls
• Electronics
• Drilling Modules
• Drilling Rigs
• Generator Sets
• Instrumentation
• Mixers
• Pumps
• Shipboard
• Well Fracturing Units
• Workover Rigs

At Global Petroleum Show 2012, EIC will have its complete line of thermoelectric air conditioners on display. Sales engineers will be on hand to discuss your specific application. Please stop by booth #5418!

While the use of a thermoelectric cooling system will not be suitable for every application, they often provide substantial benefits over alternative technologies. EIC continues to provide efficient solutions for our military and industrial customers. As we Continuously Improve our products, we focus on optimizing the significant advantages that thermoelectric cooling systems provide over other cooling methods. With Earth Day 2012 coming up, an important aspect of our products to consider is the significant environmental benefits they offer. Unlike compressor-based air conditioners, EIC provides thermoelectric air conditioners that do not need chemical refrigerants (CFCs, HCFCs or oils) that are harmful to the environment. Our thermoelectric coolers require virtually no maintenance as our only moving parts are fans.

Today, doing business with EIC continues to offer key advantages over our competitors. Every EIC customer can be confident that EIC will provide flexibility, customization, industry-best lead times and top-notch product quality for their specific applications and cooling needs. EIC provides complete solutions that include fully integrated packages which include both cooling and enclosures or transit cases. EIC also offers virtually limitless customization options to achieve the optimal solution for any challenge. Additionally, we have a long history of solving complex cooling problems and developing innovative, customer-specific solutions.

At EIC Solutions we have provided quality products to our military and industrial customers for the past 40 years and we look forward to providing them with the best possible solutions to their electronics protection challenges far into the future.

Jamie is one of our brightest and newest Sales Engineers. He began working at EIC last year and is now one of the main points of contact for EIC customers. Jamie is a valuable resource for potential and current customers looking for standard cooling solutions. He is also extremely knowledgeable in developing custom solutions for specific applications and harsh environments. Jamie points to EIC’s “High Standard of Performance” as the most important factor for continuing EIC’s growth and success. He believes that if EIC continues the long-standing tradition of providing customers with high quality products that meet their needs and perform above expectations, growth and success will continue to come easily.

Jamie finds that one of the most common unknown facts about Thermoelectric Cooling is that it allows you to achieve temperatures below ambient without a compressor. Thermoelectric cooling uses no moving parts (other than fans) so there is no filter to clean, no coolant to refill, and virtually no maintenance. Jamie takes pride in knowing that the thermoelectric cooling solutions he helps provide to our military customers are helping to protect the lives of our soldiers.

As electronics throughout the country begin to change, it is important to remain up to date with cooling solutions that will perform for years to come. Jamie feels that compressor-based cooling solutions put into service will become less efficient over time and result in higher costs. The advanced controls and sensitive electronics of tomorrow will require cooling solutions that are maintenance-free, reliable, compact in size, lightweight, and convenient to install.

In his free time, Jamie enjoys playing ice hockey, as well as rooting for his favorite team, The Philadelphia Flyers. Hockey has been a passion of Jamie’s since he was 5 years old. He is a huge Philadelphia sports fan in general and is gearing up for a great end to the Flyers season followed by another fabulous Phillies season. Nothing complements sports better than food and in Philly that means cheesesteak. Jamie’s favorite place to grab a quick bite for the game is a well-known place called “Talk of the Town” in South Philadelphia.

Now that you have learned more about Jamie, one of our team members, we hope you will feel free to contact him with any questions or for a review of your cooling needs… Please don’t hesitate to call!

Jamie Alletag

Sales Engineer

jalletag@eicsolutions.com

215-443-5190

www.eicsolutions.com

Steve believes that the most critical core value of EIC’s is the commitment to keeping a High Standard of Performance.  With a background in engineering design it is easy to understand where Steve is coming from.  He thinks that the most common misconception about Thermoelectric Cooling is that the temperature differential between ambient and external air has a maximum, even when there is nothing being cooled.  Steve added that as mission-critical electronics continue to advance and increase their capabilities, so does the demand for complex cooling systems.  He feels that with electronic control systems becoming more powerful, requiring increased performance and lifetime cycles, there will be increased needs for thermoelectric cooling systems that can operate in extreme conditions and in remote locations. Ensuring that enclosures and the electronics in those enclosures continue to operate at the highest standards for performance is job number one for Steve and the EIC design team.

Now that we know more about him and the excellent job he performs at EIC we asked Steve a couple more questions to really get to know him.  When Steve is not designing new products he enjoys auto racing.  He not only enjoys watching it, but also participates in racing himself. His favorite place to vacation is Lime Rock, Connecticut that has some truly beautiful sites and competitive auto racing.  If you are looking to experience some of the nations natural beauty, Steve highly recommends that you add Lime Rock to your list of destinations!  When Steve is deep inside a project and bogged down with work one of his favorite grab and go lunches is an American staple, the Hoagie.

We hope you enjoyed learning more about EIC and its team. If you are interested in learning more or would like to contact Steve please feel free to reach out to him directly.

Steve Berrodin

Design Engineer

EIC Solutions, Inc.

P:  215.443.5190

sberrodin@eicsolutions.com

www.eicsolutions.com

Since September of 2004 Josh has been a Sales Engineer with EIC Solutions. Currently Josh is a primary contact for customers and is a valuable resource when a customer needs product and application information. Josh also serves as a technical resource within the EIC Solutions sales team. We recently sat down with Josh and got to know more about his role at EIC, and how he likes to spend his free time.

When asked what he prides himself on most in his work at EIC, Josh answered with one word, integrity. Josh makes sure he keeps his customer’s best interest in mind and isn’t just telling a customer or potential customer what they want to hear to make a sale.  Josh takes pride in working closely with his customers, from the beginning, to maximize their needs. This high standard of integrity drives Josh and his peers to put out better products that function at higher levels of performance and most importantly can be relied on. Over the last 8 years Josh has been part of a team that provides its knowledge and expertise in thermoelectric cooling solutions to some of the most critical electronics systems in the world.  In essence Josh and the team at EIC develop cooling solutions that protect our borders, national security, and our troops abroad, where failure is not an option.

Josh feels that one of the biggest misconceptions about thermoelectric cooling is that these systems are merely heat exchangers. When it comes to electronics protection heat exchangers would never be able to drive the internal temperature of an enclosure below ambient. On the other hand, EIC’s air conditioners have the potential to drop the temperate as much as 40 degrees below ambient.

Josh points to the growing reliance on smarter electronics as the reason why protecting and cooling these electronics is becoming more and more critical all the time. Staying up to date and educated on the latest in thermal management and electronics protection is also something Josh feels is an important service he can provide to his customers. By reading several defense publications and Process Cooling, Josh is able to sharpen his business acumen with various articles, newsletters and whitepapers. As we are sure you can attest from the above, Josh Liegel is an experienced, well-educated and qualified Senior Sales Engineer.

We also took the opportunity to get to know what Josh enjoys doing during his free time. When asking Josh where he disappears to for lunch he smiled and said his favorite grab and go meal spot is Chipotle!  And when vacation time roles around he enjoys heading down to the New Jersey Shore to soak in the rays and enjoy the fresh ocean air.  Josh also mentioned for those that have never been to the Jersey Shore, don’t let the media tell you different, it’s a great place to vacation!!

We hope you enjoyed learning about Josh. If you are interested in learning more or would like to contact him please feel free to reach out to Josh directly.

Josh Liegel, Senior Sales Engineer EIC Solutions, Inc.

215.443.5190, jliegel@eicsolutions.com

www.eicsolutions.com

The success of EIC starts and ends with our team members. We strive to provide significant opportunity for our team members to gain autonomy over their work, guided by an overall sense of increased responsibility to successfully serve our customers’ needs while furthering their professional growth. Our stellar team, behind the products and services we offer, has delivered over the years by being committed to our core values.  At EIC Solutions our values all stem from our overall VISION but the one we want to focus on in this blog entry is Team Member Growth.

At EIC Solutions our team members are dedicated to providing innovative solutions and superior service. EIC’s team is committed to finding the best possible solutions for our customer’s applications. With the detailed selection process each team member goes through, the expertise necessary to design customized solutions to unique cooling challenges can certainly be seen by each member.

This group of team members continues to drive us forward and gain EIC world-wide recognition.  In 2010, we received two supplier excellence awards from Northrop Grumman. These awards were related not only to thousands of air-conditioned transit cases used to protect mission-critical electronics in both Iraq and Afghanistan, but also our ongoing commitment to customer satisfaction.

We cannot thank our team members enough for 40 years of success and for being instrumental in continuing to move us forward.

There are a number of harsh environments that directly impact the demand for the thermal management of advanced electronic and electrical devices. Unwanted heat, can cause electronics to fail. This heat must be managed in order to increase safety and efficiency of our most mission-critical electronics. Most enclosed electronics obtain unwanted heat in two ways.

Internal Heat Sources: All computers and electronic components generate a certain amount of heat. Ironically, the same equipment that can be damaged by heat is in many cases the primary source of the heat. External Heat Sources: The environment in which advanced electronic and electrical devices are located can also be a major factor in adding unwanted heat.

Environments like the desert create complex electronic protection challenges. The desert has one of the harshest climates in the world. Desert winds often cause powerful sand storms and dust devils. The winds are desiccating and dust-laden. When a national security company was in need of a solution that could provide both cooling and heating for the enclosures housing camera systems used at select US border crossings, EIC developed a solution that fit their needs. The national security company experienced a reduction in monitoring system downtime by preventing failures due to the temperature extremes associated with U.S borders.

Using a solid-state technology to accomplish temperature change, thermoelectric coolers eliminate the need for refrigerants and operate with fewer moving parts.  They can cool enclosures to temperatures below ambient conditions while producing little noise and vibration.  Featuring reliability and a long life span, coupled with flexible input power requirements and mounting arrangements, thermoelectric air conditioners offer significant advantages over conventional cooling methods.

Offshore production platforms by nature are located in harsh environments and require large amounts of sensitive electronics to keep production running 24 hours a day. Quite simply, oil rigs draw extremely flammable fluids out of the Earth and separate highly poisonous gas from the extracted fluids. Oil rig employees operate with all the risk associated with dangerous machinery and working outdoors during stormy conditions. When an oil and gas exploration company needed an air conditioning solution for electrical control panels in their offshore rigs and refining plants in the Gulf of Mexico, EIC developed a solution that fit their needs and increased safety. For this company, the temperature within the electrical panels on the company’s oil rigs can now be maintained at a safe level without the risk of explosion.

Electronic process control equipment has made modern industrial plants more efficient and safer. Corrosive gases in these modern industrial plants can permeate into control rooms and cause corrosion on computers, sensitive electronics and other mission-critical systems. Rapid changes in temperature or humidity can accelerate corrosion on electronic components and can lead to catastrophic failure in critical control and safety systems. When a nuclear power plant approached EIC Solutions because they were unhappy with the failure rates and maintenance levels of their existing compressor-based cooling systems, EIC developed a solution. EIC provided a custom double-bay rack-mount Protector™ Series Electronic Enclosure with an integrated 2500 BTU Thermoelectric Air Conditioner to cool the entire enclosure. The solution for the nuclear power plant fit their needs and resulted in a significant reduction in failure rates as well as maintenance costs.

The utilization of a thermoelectric cooling system to cool electronic/electrical enclosures provides a number of significant advantages. While the initial cost of a thermoelectric system is comparable to compressor-based systems, the long term reliability of thermoelectric coolers drives down the total cost of ownership over time. You can learn more about thermoelectric cooling and mission-critical electronics protection by visiting www.eicsolutions.com